How to Pick a Welder Trade School near Columbus Kansas
Selecting the ideal welder trade school near Columbus KS is an essential first step to starting your new career as a professional welder. But since there are numerous schools to pick from, how do you know which ones to consider? And more significantly, once you have narrowed down your choices, how do you select the right one? A number of prospective students start by reviewing the schools that are closest to their homes. Once they have located those that are within driving distance, they gravitate toward the least costly one. Yes, location and the cost of tuition are crucial concerns when reviewing welding vocational schools, but they are not the only ones. Other concerns include such things as accreditation, reputation and job placement rates. So before initiating your search for a vocational school to become a welder, it’s wise to create a list of qualifications that your selected school must have. But before we delve into our due diligence checklist, let’s cover a little bit about how to become a welder.
Welding Certificate and Degree Training Courses
There are multiple alternatives available to receive training as a welder in a trade or technical school. You can obtain a a certificate, a diploma or an Associate Degree. Bachelor Degrees are available in Welding Technology or Welding Engineering, but are more advanced degrees than most journeyman welders will need. Some programs are also offered along with an apprenticeship program. Following are brief descriptions of the most prevalent welding programs available in the Columbus KS.
- Diploma and Certificate Programs are generally offered by technical and trade schools and take about a year to complete. They are more hands-on training in scope, designed largely to develop welding skills. They can provide a good foundation for a new journeyman or apprentice welder, or specialized skills for experienced welders.
- Associate Degree Programs will take 2 years to complete and are usually offered by community colleges. An Associate Degree in Welding Technology provides a more extensive education than the certificate or diploma while still supplying the foundation that readies students to enter the workforce.
Many municipalities and states do have licensing requirements for welders, therefore don’t forget to check for your location of future employment. As needed, the welding school you select should prepare you for any licensing examinations that you will need to take in addition to supplying the suitable training to become a qualified welder.
Welding Certification Alternatives
There are a number of institutions that provide welding certifications, which assess the knowledge and skill level of those applying. Numerous Columbus KS employers not only require a certificate or degree from an accredited welding school, but also certification from a renowned agency such as the American Welding Society (AWS). A wide range of certifications are offered based upon the type of work that the welder performs. Some of the things that certification can acknowledge are the welder’s ability to
- Operate in compliance with specific codes
- Work with specified metal thicknesses
- Work with certain kinds of welds
- Work in compliance with contract specifications
As previously mentioned, various cities, states or local municipalities have licensing requirements for welders. Of those calling for licensing, many also require certification for various kinds of work. Certification is also a means to prove to employers that you are a highly skilled and qualified welder. So just as with licensing, look into the requirements for your location and confirm that the welding vocational school you decide on prepares you for certification as needed.
How to Pick a Welding Technical Program
Once you have decided on the credential you would like to obtain, a diploma, certificate or degree, you can begin to assess schools. As you probably know, there are numerous welder trade and technical schools in the Columbus KS area. That’s why it’s essential to determine in advance what qualifications your school of choice must have. We have previously covered a couple of significant ones that most people look at first, which are location and tuition cost. As mentioned, although they are very important qualifiers, they are not the only ones that need to be looked at. After all, the program you choose is going to provide the education that will be the foundation of your new career as a welder. So following are more factors you might need to consider before choosing a welding tech school.
Accreditation. It’s extremely important that the welding trade school you decide on is accredited by either a national or a regional agency. There are two basic kinds of accreditation. The school may attain Institutional Accreditation based on all of their programs. Programmatic Accreditation is based on a specific program the school offers, for example Welding Technology. So make sure that the program you choose is accredited, not just the school itself. Additionally, the accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency, such as the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). Besides helping make sure that you receive a superior education, the accreditation might also assist in securing financial aid or student loans, which are frequently unavailable in Columbus KS for non-accredited schools. Also, for those states or local governments that mandate licensing, they may require that the welder training program be accredited also.
Apprenticeship and Job Placement Programs. Many welding degree or certificate programs are offered in conjunction with an apprenticeship program. Some other schools will assist in placing you in an apprenticeship or a job upon graduation. Ask if the schools you are considering help in placing students in apprenticeships or have a job placement program. These schools must have associations with local unions and other metal working businesses to which they can place their students. More established schools may have a larger network of graduates that they can utilize for referrals. These programs can help students find employment and develop associations within the Columbus KS welding community.
Job Placement and Completion Rates. The completion rate is the percentage of students that begin an instructional program and finish it. It’s important that the welding program you select has a higher completion rate. A low rate might indicate that the students who enrolled in the program were unhappy with the instruction, the instructors, or the facilities, and quit. The job placement rate is also an indication of the caliber of training. A higher job placement rate will not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the trade, but also that it has the network of Columbus KS contacts to help students secure apprenticeships or employment after graduation.
Modern Equipment and Facilities. Once you have narrowed down your choice of welding programs to 2 or 3 options, you should think out visiting the campuses to inspect their facilities. Confirm that both the facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are modern. In particular, the training equipment should be comparable to what you will be working with on the job. If you are not sure what to look for, and are currently in an apprenticeship program, consult with the master welder you are working under for guidance. Otherwise, ask a local Columbus KS welding professional if they can give you a few tips.
School Location. Even though we already briefly discussed the significance of location, there are a couple of additional points that we need to deal with. You should bear in mind that unless you are able to relocate, the welder school you choose needs to be within driving distance of your Columbus KS home. If you do decide to attend an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation expenses there might be higher tuition fees for out-of-state residents. This is especially the case for welding diploma programs offered by community colleges. Also, if the school provides a job placement or apprenticeship program, most likely their placements are within the school’s regional community. So the location of the school should be in an area or state where you subsequently will want to work.
Smaller Classes. One-on-one instruction is important for a hands-on trade such as welding. It’s easy to get overlooked in bigger classes and not receive much individualized instruction. Ask what the average class size is for the welder programs you are considering. Inquire if you can attend some classes so that you can observe just how much individual attention the students are receiving. While there, talk with some of the students and get their evaluations. Also, talk to a couple of the trainers and ask what their welding experience has been and what credentials and certifications they have earned.
Flexible Class Scheduling. Lots of folks learn a new trade while still working at their present job. Confirm that the class schedules for the schools you are considering are convenient enough to meet your needs. If you can only go to classes in the evenings or on weekends near Columbus KS, confirm that the schools you are assessing offer those options. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, confirm that the school you decide on offers part-time enrollment. Also, check to see what the protocol is to make up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family emergencies.
Will You Be Attending Welding School Near Columbus KS?
Perhaps you live in the Columbus Kansas area, or have decided to enroll in a Welding Program that has a campus near there. In either case, you may find this bit of history both interesting and informative.
Columbus, Kansas
Columbus was a railroad junction for the Saint Louis and San Francisco, and the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railroads. It was named Columbus by A.L. Peters, one of the European-American founders, for his hometown of Columbus, Ohio; the name thus indirectly honors Christopher Columbus, the explorer.[9][10] Coal, lead and zinc were mined in the region. Columbus had a considerable trade in agricultural products, and its businesses included machine shops, grain elevators, flour mills, a cigar factory, bottle works (soft drinks), a canning factory, and an extensive brick-making plant.[11]
In 1875, Robert A. Long and Victor Bell formed the Long-Bell Lumber Company in Columbus. From one lumberyard, Long-Bell expanded operations and holdings to become one of the largest vertically integrated lumber companies in the United States. In 1956 it was purchased by International Paper.[12]
Columbus is located at 37°10′17″N 94°50′27″W / 37.17139°N 94.84083°W / 37.17139; -94.84083 (37.171379, -94.840704).[13] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.42 square miles (6.27 km2), all of it land.[2]
Online Welding Training
Welding is truly a manual kind of profession, and therefore not extremely suitable for online training. Having said that, there are a small number of online welding programs offered by certain community colleges and technical schools in the greater Columbus KS area that can count toward a degree or certificate program. These courses primarily deal with such subjects as safety, reading blueprints, and metallurgy. They can help give a novice a basis to start their education and training. However, the most significant point is that you can’t learn how to weld or use welding materials unless you actually do it. Clearly that can’t be performed online. These skills have to be learned in an on-campus setting or in an apprenticeship. Online or distance learning is more appropriate for seasoned welders that desire to advance their knowledge or possibly attain a more advanced degree. So if you should come across an online welding degree or certificate program, be very careful and verify that the bulk of the training is done on campus or in a workshop type of setting.
Choose the Best Welding Vocational School Columbus KS
Selecting the ideal welder training program will probably be the most important decision you will make to launch your new trade. As we have addressed in this article, there are many things that you will need to examine and compare among the programs you are reviewing. It’s a necessity that any welder training program that you are evaluating includes a good deal of hands-on training. Classes need to be smaller in size and each student must have their personal welding machine to train with. Classroom instruction needs to offer a real-world context, and the training program should be current and in-line with industry standards. Programs vary in length and the type of credential offered, so you will need to ascertain what length of program and certificate or degree will best fulfill your needs. Each training program provides unique possibilities for certification also. Probably The ideal way to research your final list of schools is to visit each campus and talk with the students and faculty. Invest some time to monitor a few classes. Inspect the campus and facilities. Make certain that you are confident that the program you pick is the right one for you. With the right training, hard work and commitment, the final outcome will be a new trade as a professional welder in Columbus KS.
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